RCMP say a two-year-old child who was lost in the woods near Pelican Narrows for an entire night over the weekend was found safe and sound.
The boy was reported to have been missing since about 3:00 p.m. on Saturday — but RCMP only got word the following afternoon.
All of the Mounties stationed at the Pelican Narrows RCMP detachment began searching the residence and close vicinity of where the child was last seen — and calls for assistance were made to RCMP dog and search and rescue teams.
Less than two hours after police were notified, the toddler was located by two searchers who had walked into the bush line to begin looking for him. The boy was found — wearing only a t-shirt — in the bush, sitting about a kilometre behind a local school in an area referred to as the “ski hill”.
The child was transported to the health centre in Pelican Narrows where he was treated for minor cuts and bug bites, but was otherwise said to be in good health.
The temperature overnight in Pelican Narrows on Saturday was about 19 degrees Celsius.
Cpl. Doug McLaren of the Pelican Narrows detachment says it was “quite lucky” that the child was found because he was not on a path.
“Considering everything that happened, it was extremely lucky. As I’m sure everyone is aware, given the time of year and such, if it had been any other time of year, it might not have worked out quite as fortunate.”
The child is now in the care of Social Services.